My Canadian guitar teacher tells a story about how, one night after a winter time gig he drove off with his SG still on top of his car. It was snowing significantly as he drove off. He didn’t realize his mistake until the following morning. He drove back to the gig to find his cased SG buried in a snowbank. He brought the guitar home to find that the SG was unfazed by the overnight subzero (Celsius) adventure.
Wow! Reminds me a little of the stories of Mike Bloomfield turning up to jams with his Telecaster in winter, no case; would brush the snow off and just play 😊
@@TobyWatkins ... and Roy Buchanan carrying his Tele 'naked' home from gigs in NYC in the early am and once using it baseball bat style to fight off a mugger.
As an aged (68) guitar student I bought myself a Gibson SG standard 61, translucent teal. a few months ago - I enjoyed 'trying' to play it as I watched this - a great way to 30 minutes this October evening in the UK - thank you.
My first guitar was an SG copy. I got it in 1984. Now a luthier I’ve gone through so many different phases and had so many guitars. It took that long to realize that all my muscle memory was on that first guitar. So I restored it. I fell in love with it all over again. Now it’s almost all I play. Thank you for this amazing video. I think I’ll go play my SG now…
Funny how that muscle memory works. I played cheapo Strats my first year or two; I coveted a Les Paul but couldn't afford one. My first high-quality guitar was an '84 Gibson Explorer that I bought used in '89 or '90 for four hundred dollars. I thought Explorers looked stupid... until I played this one and realized how comfortable it was for me. Sitting or standing. Comfy like a Strat, rocks like a Les Paul - I'll take it! As far as I can recall, that guitar has been involved in every single gig or project I've done over all the years since then. It is not quite "the perfect guitar for me." If I were to design a similar guitar from the ground up, I'd change the pots layout and make the neck notably thicker... but by golly, this beat-up '84 still feels like home to me. That's the guitar that stays right next to my desk and definitely still gets played the most.
I adore these Mini docs on the classic guitars, especially the Gibson ones, i must have watched the Les Paul and burst Vids about a hundred times. One day i will get a proper SG , they are much cheaper than a les paul too, especially used , i have had copies but as a Player myself, i want that proper seal of approval on the headstock.
I was given a 2006 Gibson SG Supreme by a member of the congregation I pastor a few years ago. I’d never owned a guitar that nice and was afraid to play it for a long time. My dream guitar as a kid was a Les Paul. The closest I came to doing so was a fake that I recently sold due to how much the weight of it hurt my back. I’ve really enjoyed the SG though. It’s a definite blessing. God had a better idea about my dream guitar than I did. I can play 3 hour gigs now between it and an acoustic without pain. If I’m not mistaken, it came stock with ‘57 classic pickups (someone might know for sure). I love playing all kinds of music, and the SG can handle all of that … from Eagles to Zeppelin to Allman Brothers to Sabbath to country and blues, and everything in between. I’ve used it at church many times as well, including an EBow version of “Silent Night.” What a great guitar!
@@PFB1994 He is SO underrated. He's not a virtuoso like other 60s heroes, but his solos/leads were tasty, melodic, and PERFECT for the song. Not to mention his riffs, songwriting, and overall unique style.
I can not believe that you left out Robby Krieger! That is an injustice to an artist that created some of the most memorable music and riffs using an SG exclusively.
Both guitar players for the Alice Cooper Band, Glenn Buxton and Michael Bruce, were SG players. John Cippolina of Quicksilver Messenger Service was also a big SG player. Gray Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd used an SG when he played slide. Robbie Krieger od the Doors also used several SG's in his career.
Yep I was waiting for Glenn Buxton and Michael Bruce to be in this video along with Frank Marino but the biggest absence of all was no mention have Gary rossington having played the slide parts of Freebird on an SG Les Paul
In 1966, they solved the neck joint…..but only on the Jr. much longer tenon, I had no clue when I bought it in 1995. The combination of the long neck tenon, and the smaller control cavity make for a very dynamic LOUD guitar acoustically, mine had a PAF, cover removed, instead of the soapbar, only a tiny bit of routing ….just for the PU legs in the bottom of the original rout, the PU baseplate sitting on the body, a Leo Quan bridge. And Grover tuners. Turned out to be the perfect axe for me. Stock tuners and 60 cycle hum soapbars are not my favs! But I owned it for 15 years before I played it much, seemed to have a cross warp of the neck, but finally 8:12 I had a little cash, took it to a guy, who simply reset a few frets, polished them and put some washers under the bridge, at that point I installed a Seymour Duncan JB in 2009, it roared 😳but in 2010 I became a truck driver for 7 years, didn’t play a lick. Retired, an inheritance got me to buy all the toys I never had, and to finally play daily. As part of buying & customizing a guitar a year in 2017-2022, I did a refret with Dunlop Frets and a Tone pros bridge, I had always hated the batwing pick guard and had it cut to look like a ‘63. If it was cool before, now it was really cool, original case and guitar in ‘95? $500 Any 60’s SG Bridge PU tone I can get, As far as the neck strength? I actually managed a total geek move, kicked the guitar over, 😮😳🙄 not a scratch, didn’t even go out of tune. They can bury me with this one! But I’ve come to enjoy neck PU sounds & jazz, so I mostly play my RevStar now, 2 SD pickups all new CTS and switchcraft parts, with a Les Paul type leaf switch instead of the cheap blade switch, WIRING pots buy cheap guitars! But use quality electronics…..it’s amazing how big a difference it makes 😀
Playing a Les Paul is a little like jogging with ankle weights. After playing that literally every other electric guitar seems light. When I bought a Parker Fly my SG actually feels heavy. Isn’t that weird?
Funny enough, the weight is precisely why I can't get comfortable with SG's and PRS's. After so many years of Explorers and LPs hanging around my neck like tabletops, the SGs and PRS guitars feel like little toys 🤣
Almost missed this great video. 😱 I bought my first electric guitar when I was 14 years old. I didn’t have a lot of money, so when I saw a brand new GORGEOUS SG at a local music store I had to have it. I mean, this was the EXACT SAME GUITAR that I looked at every day when I was in my bedroom, staring at a huge poster of Angus Young on the wall. I couldn’t believe it. But hey, when it’s good enough for Angus Young, it certainly was good enough for me! Of course I had no idea that Angus played a Gibson and I bought a Maya SG with a bolt on neck. After a year of intensive playing, the guitar became unplayable and I needed a REAL guitar. A GOOD one. It had to be a Gibson SG, but I couldn’t afford it. However, another local music store had a second hand Gibson SG for months already. I still couldn’t afford it, but I knew my father, who was a professional musician (organ and accordion), would be happy to help me out. So I rushed to the music store and…… it was gone. They just sold the SG a week earlier. This young kid with a broken heart still didn’t know much about guitars, but I did know about the most important brands at the time and I knew what I found cool. With the help of my father I bought my first REAL electric guitar: a beautiful Fender Stratocaster, hardtail, Sienna Sunburst (1st Dan Smith model). I was shocked when I got home and plugged it in. All the volume was gone and it sounded very bright! That’s when I learned about the differences between single coils and humbuckers. 😅 Throughout my life as a guitarist I’ve had two dozens of electric guitars in total (not too much, is it? This is in a 42 year time span). I cannot explain why, but even though the SG was my first love when it comes to guitars, I never bought one until approximately one year ago. It was an unbelievably beautiful SG Special, new but B-stock. It was a huge disappointment however. It sounded amazing, but even after giving it a proper set-up and pulling all the slack out of the strings, it just kept going out of tune. I think I could’ve fixed it with a better bridge, but it wasn’t just that. I’m not picky about neck shapes. In fact, I love it when a guitar has its own personality and a different neck shape helps with that. But the neck on this guitar was extremely thin. I hated it. I wanted this guitar so bad, but I had to send it back unfortunately. *Warning! I will digress from now on.* Instead I bought an Explorer, another youth dream of mine. I sold it and then I bought my last electric, a Gretsch White Falcon (modern version - G6636T). I know nothing about all of this makes any sense, but I guess I couldn’t control myself. I was downsizing. It wasn’t long ago when even though I had 11 or 12 stage worthy electrics, most of them were in a very bad shape and I had only two guitars that were still perfect (Gibson ES-347 and a heavily modified Fender Telecaster), so for a couple of years I solely used these two instruments and I felt PERFECTLY HAPPY!!! When things got a little better for me financially, I bought a 50’s style Telecaster. I have a history of ‘meeting’ some of the best Telecasters ever and EVERY TIME something went wrong, so THIS time I wasn’t going to let that happen. I should have felt good, but it made things a bit more difficult. I also treated my first Stratocaster with new pickups and this made it even worse. Because…. I don’t play 4x a week anymore. When I played 16 times a year it means I had a good year. So what am I going to take with me on a gig? I could bring two Telecasters with me (or three, but because of all sorts of physical limitations, missing my lower right leg for instance, and not being able to drive anymore, I need to ask others to carry most of my stuff. And I don’t want to bother them with my problems), so… two Telecasters. But when I do that I will have to leave my best guitar at home. I can’t let that happen, can I? It’s making me feel very uncomfortable. That’s why I decided to sell a couple more guitars and keep three completely different Telecasters plus my ES-347, my Les Paul Standard Lite Double Cut (sort of like a surrogate SG - amazing guitar!) and the White Falcon. In other words, two sets of guitars. For both sets I would have my main guitar, a spare guitar and a third guitar in an open G tuning. I’m so sorry for my long comment. I always tell myself to keep it simple and to the point. But I usually watch your videos during the night and for reasons I don’t understand THAT’S when I keep typing after I decided to leave a comment. I just can’t stop. I just love guitars and guitar related stuff and I don’t know that many people that I can call up in the middle of the night to tell them about my enthusiasm for SG’s after I’ve seen another one of your great videos. Thanks again, Keith! 🧡🧡🧡
I recently picked up a 2001 sg special faded with ebony fretboard and cresent moon inlays. Came out only 2001/2002. Apparently leftover fretboards after the flying v that came out earlier? Sweet guitar. Sad u missed it in this video 🙃🤘🏻
Oops i wrote 2001. Its a 2002. And its worn brown. Serial number search: Your guitar was made at the Nashville Plant, TN, USA on June 3rd, 2002 Production Number: 216 Anyone have any idea how many they made of these? I would really appriciate answers ❤🎸
In the 70s I bought a SG standard from a friend of mine for $300. I believe it was a 68. I loved that axe. It was modified by me to a stop tail piece and the tremolo mech removed. Another friend of mine obtained a white, custom, 3 pickup version that never intonated well... In the 80s I lent my good friend my SG and the head stock was broken off. He had it repaired but I sold it to him for $300.. The SG was excellent for playing way up at the top of the neck and the wide frets made it play awesome. I am still considering purchasing another (replacement) classic SG
Your videos are ridiculous. You are the kid in the class that does a PowerPoint presentation when everyone else drew on notebook paper with crayons. You are 4D compared to black and white tube tv. The research, [chef's kiss] Bravissimo!
I bought an SG Special at a pawn shop in the mid 60's . I had it a year and sold it to buy a mid 50's Les Paul Special Gold Top with Soap Bars (P90's). It has always had my favorite neck. My #1 guitar now is a Gibson SG Standard ltd ed . I bought it to flip from an estate sale but flipped mt PRS instead, lol. 😇 It is one of those best out dozens of others likely made that day. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Info on the sg I never knew…model iterations unfamiliar to me and interesting to explore further in my quest of cool sg models…thnx again for sharing 👍🏼
My first SG guitar heroes were John Cipollina (who was mesmerizing when seen live), the guitarists in Big Brother and Country Joe and the Fish, Robbie Krieger and Frank Zappa. I finally bought a 1975 Standard in the early nineties, which I replaced in 2007 with new '61 Reissue and Special with P-90's, both keepers.
I bought a brand new SG standard in 2015 and absolutely loved it, minus the G force robo tuner maybe. Somewhat recently I sold it to make room in my piggy bank for an already acquired 1952 Martin D-28. One day I'll have another, maybe a lower spec model. For years, I've eye balled the 60s tribute series and I think I'd give the P90 version a whirl. Fairly easily it's been my easiest playing guitar though but for now, I'm actually kinda in love with a Hondo H935, a lawsuit era copy of an ES-335 that's an excellent player too and far more attainable than any Gibson would be. No matter what though, from an early age it was shown to me that as a musician, there is no end to wanting to try everything under the sun and see what ways it impacts you as a player.
In '68 I bought a Gibson TV New, which the Store Owner told me was New but had never sold while on the wall. He liked the guitar which was White with a Short Arm Vibrola, a single P-90 and a Truss Rod Cover that said TV on it so he kept it down stairs. I LOVED that Guitar!!!! My First Gibson. I traded it in '70 as a Roadie had dropped it down a flight of stairs and cracked the body just above the Controls. A DEEP Crack almost Clear though the body! The Store Owner where I bought it said Gibson would probably charge me almost the cost of a New Guitar to fix it because they would have to replace the body. I think I paid about $200 for it and it came with a rectangular Brown HSC with Gold Plush Interior that had Gibson in Script on the Front of it. I currently have a Gison SG Special and it's funny, my Special has some 60 cycle Hum but the TV NEVER did! Cheers from Salem, Oh.
My first real guitar was an epiphone SG custom, it's a model I've come back to numerous times in various forms, probably no surprise my favourite guitars are SG's and ES models.
Thanks Keith, an excelent overview, I own a '61 Les Paul SG, I've had since 1978, it's great, a friend recently purchased a '61 reissue and it's super, very close to mine, I would say though that the best SG standards, I've ever played came out of the Nashville factory in the late 70's, as I was working in a music shop at the time quite a few passed through my hands and they were all excellent guitars, I particularly liked the Super Humbucker pick-ups, I bought a couple to put on other guitars I owned.
I've had 4 SGs of my own over years but none in the last 8 years. I just inherited my dad's Custom Shop 61 VOS and an original 61 case. It's an amazing playing and sounding guitar.
Great job once again Keith. Except for leaving out some key SG players almost perfect. I just bought my first SG yesterday. It's an Epiphone SG Custom in Viper Blue. Beautiful and it didn't break the bank. Sounds great too! My long holiday weekend just got a lot better. 😀💯👍🏻
My first decent guitar was an Epiphone G400 and then years later I was able to afford a proper SG with mini humbuckers. These are both awesome guitars and totally different from the rest of my collection. They do different jobs.
I recently bought my first Gibson, a Cherry SG Standard with Burstbucker Pro pickups and Tune O Matic bridge. It’s a bucket list guitar for me (big Angus Young fan) and everything I hoped it would be.
Fell in love with the Sg in the early Sabbath days and it has been my number one since and I own all the others.. still gigging 60 per year.. Rock on !!
Hi Keith, These are by far my favorite axe. The SG is everything I love about a guitar. It has the duel humbucker sound, outstanding upper fret access, it’s nice and light in weight and it looks very cool to boot too if all that wasn’t enough :) I was surprised to see this one since you’ve don’t the SG already however it’s 4k too so I get it ( and glad you did haha! ) Thanks as always, Tommy~
thanks for another gem Keith! Well, I said that here before but my first SG was coming from trading an original 65 Stratocaster sunburst and The SG was a 74 Standard with Bigsby tremolo, It was my first. Currently I have a 2013 Special in sparkling burgundy red which plays phenomenal. Funny enough, in your presentation for this video you show an olympic white one on a red sofa. The picture was taken at my buddy Owen's Some Neck Guitars shop in Dublin, the first shop on the corner of Angier with George St.. I'm telling you this because I stopped by countless times at the shop and I played that particular instrument a good bunch of times and this brings tears to my eyes. I'd like to send all my love as always to Owen if he happens to watch this video, he is truly a gentleman and has one of the most beautiful guitar shops you can find, really you get in there and it is like a dream. Thanks again for this video Keith, you always get me emotional man. Much love always from West Spain ❤ By the way Greg Koch is made from another kind of clay. Hell I love The Gristle!
The only SG I ever owned, came to me as a project guitar in need of repair. It was old and had been sitting in its case for years. It turned out that the input jack was not attached. I fixed it in 5 minutes. It sounded awesome, but I didn't like the neck dive so I sold it, a week later. I paid 550 bucks for it and sold it for 1200, by posting an ad in the grocery store. I do remember the owner saying that it was made in the seventies, but I think he was trying to make it seem newer than it really was. How times have changed!
Hi Keith, excellent video and the SG s definitely its own thing, and I love mine. I do want to say that you perhaps did forget to mention that for a brief period around 2016 that Gibson made an SG Standard with P-90s that has a "T" model designation. This is a very affordable SG (which is what I have), and of high quality - IF you can find one. I was hunting one on Reverbs until last week, when one finally popped up, and it was mint. I jumped on and it arrived this week. Sweet joy that SG is - especially that P-90 bridge pickup - good lord!
Thank you for the video! I'm a bass player owning few guitars like a strat and a casino but I always had a crush on SG. probably gonna get one now... maybe a p90 one.
I dont have a cool story, but I do have an SG that I kind of bought by accident and I absolutely love that thing. Its definitely a special guitar and if I was rich, I'd buy more of them.
I always wanted an SG since my teens because I had noticed that my favorite tones were from SG players. It took me 15 years before I finally got one. I had tried to buy used ones and they always sold before I had enough money together. When I finally got my first SG, a lot tone chasing ensued. My amp and pedals changed frequently until I found a couple of amps that got me most of the tones I wanted and a few OD/distortion/fuzz pedals that got me the rest of the way. I've since narrowed done my choices of amps to 3. I sold off almost 200 pedals, now sitting at a collection of about 50 that I feel get me almost any sound I desire.
In 1973 I purchased a 1968 sg special in black 2 p 90's ans short maestro vibrola and a 73 50w marshall with 8×10 cabinet thank God I got pictures man I wish I had that guitar back I guess the black finish was rare I've looked on line and can't find one ! Great show thanks !
I have a ‘73 Standard in Cherry that has faded to a mahogany color. It has the bevels, small block pearl inlays, Tarback pickups and a small pick guard. Great guitar.
The first time my eyes ever spied an SG in person was when my older brother brought home a Cherry SG Standard back in 1979-1980 , all I could think was " COOL !!! " Now 44 years later I think it is time to get one for myself ! Great video ! Thanks !
Back when buying albums was an event. I remember getting the double live Uriah Heep record and seeing Mick Box playing an SG in one of the photos included in the center of the album. That was a great record!
I know Dave Barber personally. When you mentioned the barber Buss pedal it hit me like a sledge hammer. My first guitar @ about 19 years old was a LES PAUL. Sadly I sold it maybe 8 years later thinking I would give up guitar for good. Then around 20 years later I got my first SG when I failed to win the high bid on a Les Paul BFG I was after. Now I own 4 SG's and 2 LP's
As a life long SG lover(my first guitar I bought in 1991 and still own my 1991 SG Standard along with a 2011 60s Tribute P90 one), I loved your original video and can't wait to watch the re-done one!
after over 55 years of playing several guitars (les paul and strat, tele and prs SEs)i got myself a SG 61 "faded" one this year (i modded it) and although it'S NOT a Les Paul (for several reasons) i love it for it's unique style and sound.....cheers love to watch your videos....very interesting....
I never really liked the SG but recently got a set of Gibson P90s and needed a platform. I visioned smth like a DC or a PRS but ended with a Stagg SG300 and boy, I"m loving it. Definitely suits me better than my ESP LPC. High frets access is phenomenal.I need a 24-fretter in the future (and possibly a 24 fret 7-string ESP Viper as well)
I got my early 70's SG custom for peanuts in the early 80's, before AC/DC blew up properly. I had a choice at the time between the 4 SG's they had in stock, including a 60's special, a modded standard with 4 humbuckers squeezed in, a standard I can't remember, and the custom I ended up with. It had two tarbacks and a Bill Lawrence branded twin blade neck pickup with a cap that rolled off treble, and the awful fretless wonder frets that were the reason I ended up selling it for peanuts to make the rent one month. Great sounding guitar, especially through my band mate's Marshall, and it would have benefitted greatly from a refret.
I have two SGs . One a Yamaha SG 600 purchased in Japan while living there in high school (Army Brat). At the time was taking lessons from Army band member who was a former Berklee guy. Before getting Yamaha with his help at a Yamaha sponsored store, I would use one of his Les Pauls during lessons. One of which was a 61 LP / SG. We played thru a Mesa Boogie 😃 Earlier this year I got an Epiphone SG 61 from Sweetwater. Was a discount ed scratch unit but neither my or I could locate it. Man have I been pleased with it. The burst buckers really are kicking, and come alive with volume and man, sound fantastic sans pedals
Just so we’re clear, I absolutely LOVE these videos! But I find it interesting that a very important detail in the development of the SG was left out… Bringing the neck closer into the body to meet the neck pickup… It was a brilliant move that not only strengthened the neck joint, but also put the neck pickup underneath the “24th fret” harmonic, where it belongs! Not to mention, it reduced neck dive and the guitar balanced better as a result! AND, bringing the nut closer to the body made for less of a stretch for your fretting hand… Funny, how people rarely talk about this… Personally, I loved the change and wish Gibson had never abandoned it! Oh well, whaddya gonna do… 🤷🏼♂️😅
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f It’s not a problem if the guitar has 21 or 22 frets… I have Super Strats in both configurations that look and (more importantly) sound just great! I think you meant to say on 24 fret Super Strats, correct?
@@MrFrykman yeah, if it don't have 24 frets it's not a super strat. :p The pickup placement doesn't seem to stop anyone from making great music. It just looks odd to me.
I love SG's, got 2 of 'em (92 Standard & '61R). They might not be as pretty as some of my LP's but my '92 Standard is the one guitar that always sits right next to my amp. They're just straight out rock beasts & fantastic for slide. I'm surprised Mick Taylor isn't on this list. His playing on the Stones' albums is simply out of this world & his era with the band was their best by a mile (imho of course).
Carlos Santana famously played his SG Special at Woodstock through a Gallien-Krueger GMT 226 - a solid state amp, purportedly the most powerful guitar amp at the time.
A black SG standard was the first Gibson I ever bought (like many folks), back in the early 2000s after I’d come back to guitar following years of all kinds of things we give up for careers or family. Like many guitars that surprised me over the years, it was a type of guitar I’d never liked the look of, but picked up to try out. The neck on this standard was bigger, it fit my Christmas ham-sized hands, and I was instantly hooked on the playability, comfort, and resonance, playing away unplugged. Sitting there in a guitar center I’d occasionally visit on lunch breaks, I suddenly had to have it. It just felt like a part of me. It was like the guitar disappeared. The neck dive of SGs has never bothered me as, sitting or standing, I always play any guitar with a strap, one side of it a suede texture - those kind of straps make any guitar stay put. While I did play it plugged-in for a bit before I bought it (just to make sure everything worked), once I got home, I wasn’t much pleased with the pickups. They’ve always been too hot for my style of playing. In 20 years, I’ve planned to swap them for something I like more, but never seem to get around to it. I’ve kept it all these years, despite my dislike for the pickups, because whenever I pick it up, it physically feels so good to play. Gotta get those different pickups. 😃 Keith, this was another outstanding short history I eagerly saved for a quiet Saturday morning with coffee, and as usual you knocked it out of the park. Huge kudos to you and your team, you all just keep nailing it! Another of the short histories I know I’ll watch again and again. You do amazing work for the guitar community and we’re so fortunate you do. ✌️😌🎸
My first electric guitar was a 1962 Les Paul SG Standard, Short Maestro, Ebony Block Cherry. I still have it, we have almost the same amount of battle scars, and I love playing it as much today as I did when I first got my hands on it...! ✌😎🤘
@@Fisch269 Nice of you to ask. I bought it from a good friend back in 1989 and have been playing it ever since. My SG can be seen on a few of the videos on The BS Factory channel. It's nothing fancy, but it's there...
Hey Keith enjoyed this short history of the SG maybe do a short history of Harmony or something similar at some point? Your content is out together well
I just added the new 5 Watt World Barber Plus boost to my rig. Killer pedal. Hoping for more with ypu and Barber. I've sold my 2 SGs 3 years ago to acquire my 1961 Les Paul SG Jr. That's fitting for the 5 Watt World mentality I think. Love what you do man.
Keith - great update on the SH of the SG. The Live at Leeds SG is a perennial favorite - such a great noise to be made with those P-90’s. One possible small correction - you mention a “Jack Lomax” who got an SG from George Harrison. I believe that’s Jackie Lomax, whose first album was produced by and played on by George. And he’s from Liverpool, not the US. Loving these SH updates!
For me the SG has always been proof that great guitars don't have to be perfect guitars. Yes, they have their design flaws, but they also have an upside. I love how they play, I love the tone, the look. They are some of the coolest axes ever designed and I like most of their iterations. Great video.
SGs never grabbed me like some other designs, but I fully understand why so many people love them. The only real drawback for me is the weight.... after getting so accustomed to LPs and Explorers, an SG (or PRS) feels like a lightweight kid's toy to me.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f On the contrary the weight is why I love it! I had a car accident when I was 21 that gave me bursitis in my left shoulder. While most guitars were too heavy for me after that the SG was my savior.
My first good guitar was an SG. This was back in '83 and it was a Firebrand. Black with gold sunburst. I decided I was more of a Strat guy and traded the SG for a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400. Then around 2000-2001 I decided to give SGs another try. Bought a new Standard, white with gold hardware. Ended up not playing it as I never got used to the huge neck, and sold or traded it. Last year, I saw a Firebrand just like the one I used to have on Reverb. Only it was $2,200, whereas I bought that first one for $400. Deciding I was nostalgic for the guitar but not *that* nostalgic, I looked at my local (Nashville) ads and found a 2011 Standard in black for $1,100. A fret leveling (#3 was high), buffing, and setup later, it was a keeper. This one's not going anywhere.
SG‘s are my favourite design. They are great and comfortable to play, and they really can do it all. My main guitar is a Gibson SG Special with P90s and it‘s utterly brilliant.
Got my Les Paul SG (1962) in '75 for $600. at Alex Music, NYC, on 48th St. There were two in the window, one with the Vibrola, one without. I chose the one without as I never found much use for a trem bar. Best guitar I've ever played - action is great, never had to adjust the truss rod. I've only played one or two other guitars that played as easily as this one. Only issue is the "soft neck," which you have to watch out for as it brings the pitch up slightly if you're not careful. Use a hybrid set of strings, D'Addario 9.5's, which are in between 9's and 10's.
I have a1969 SG Standard I bought in the summer of 69 and it came with a Bigsby factory installed and it sounds as good as it did back then the only thing I put on it were new Kluson tuners that are period correct the original ones were wore out It's going to need a fret job I might get a hold of Gibson to see what that will cost I still play it and I love it not a bad investment for the $250.00 I paid for it
Cool, I have always loved SGs, ever since I got to play my teacher’s old SG Custom. Lots of mention of some iconic SG players, but almost always left off that list are two guitar players I always associate with the SG- Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce of the original Alice Cooper Band. The pictures of them with SGs and the early use of an EB 3 by bassist Dennis Dunaway are etched in my memory. And I see that referenced by guitar players older than I am who got into guitar due to those three.
I loved the Alice Cooper Band, From Love it to Death to Billion Dollar Babies. There's some early video on UA-cam of them playing on what looks like a high-school auditorium stage, playing "Black Juju" and other oddities.
Zappa's SG at 20:38 is not a Gibson. It has the Gibson logo on the Headstock, but it's a total custom build by a fan who presented it to Zappa at a show and he bought it and promptly had it modified. McLaughlin's Double Neck pictured at 21:24 is a Rex Bogue, not a Gibson. There was also a Firebrand model that had the Gibson logo burnt into the Hradstock.
I have a ‘73 Standard that I have owned since 1982, bought when I was 17. It was the coolest thing I’d seen to that point and of all my possessions it’s the thing I’d have the hardest time parting with.
I hear you. I don't usually get sentimental about material objects, but my first quality guitar ('84 Gibson Explorer, bought used in '90) is coming into the funeral pyre with me. That thing has been with me through a lot in the last 35+ years, including some dire financial straits, but I still have it and I still play it daily.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7fso i should not part with my les paul classic even if im in a financial struggle? Thanks for the inspiration.. i might end up trading it to sg with some cash
I have a 1968 original SG Standard that people have been trying to buy from me for the past 50 years. It was my #1 until I got a Les Paul R0 but I still love the SG and will never sell it.
My favorite feature of the SG are its horns. They have always reminded me of the Devil or steer horns. Both are cool! I have a 60th Anniversary '61 SG Custom. It is one of best-looking guitars in my collection. My only complaint relates to the non-potted pickups. I hate the popping sound they emit every time my pick touches one of the three pickups. It's a big distraction for a sloppy player like myself. That being said, I love my SG!
Keith, I'm not a guitar player or owner. But I love your short history on guitars and amps. I share your video's on a FB group and with friends who play. I am a big music collector of Vinyl and CD's. Knowing the history of the equipment helps me appreciate my favorite guitar players sound and history. Thank again for you hard work getting this info out here. I also watch Rick B.'s video's as well. You two give a great roundness to understanding great music. Peace and love man !
Another great Short History! Some of my favorite players with an SG! I was very much into Black Sabbath and AC/DC when I was “younger”. The SG was certainly front and center.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
My Canadian guitar teacher tells a story about how, one night after a winter time gig he drove off with his SG still on top of his car. It was snowing significantly as he drove off. He didn’t realize his mistake until the following morning. He drove back to the gig to find his cased SG buried in a snowbank. He brought the guitar home to find that the SG was unfazed by the overnight subzero (Celsius) adventure.
Did the same with my phone...but the end of the story is different 😂
Wow! Reminds me a little of the stories of Mike Bloomfield turning up to jams with his Telecaster in winter, no case; would brush the snow off and just play 😊
Hardy!
@@TobyWatkins ... and Roy Buchanan carrying his Tele 'naked' home from gigs in NYC in the early am and once using it baseball bat style to fight off a mugger.
That's a hard axe to follow
As an aged (68) guitar student I bought myself a Gibson SG standard 61, translucent teal. a few months ago - I enjoyed 'trying' to play it as I watched this - a great way to 30 minutes this October evening in the UK - thank you.
@@willhaylock3769 must be a great instrument!
I'm right there with ya, 67 and a new 61 SG in my hands too....great fun and great 🎸
😢I'll miss this because I'll be at work trying to make enough money to buy another SG😂😂
SG rock hardest!
you got taste mate :)
Very wise. It's important to set achievable goals and see them through. 😎
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f i own my home and vehicles. If i didn't need to eat all my money would go to guitars 😂😂
😂
My first guitar was an SG copy. I got it in 1984.
Now a luthier I’ve gone through so many different phases and had so many guitars.
It took that long to realize that all my muscle memory was on that first guitar. So I restored it. I fell in love with it all over again.
Now it’s almost all I play.
Thank you for this amazing video.
I think I’ll go play my SG now…
Funny how that muscle memory works. I played cheapo Strats my first year or two; I coveted a Les Paul but couldn't afford one. My first high-quality guitar was an '84 Gibson Explorer that I bought used in '89 or '90 for four hundred dollars. I thought Explorers looked stupid... until I played this one and realized how comfortable it was for me. Sitting or standing. Comfy like a Strat, rocks like a Les Paul - I'll take it! As far as I can recall, that guitar has been involved in every single gig or project I've done over all the years since then.
It is not quite "the perfect guitar for me." If I were to design a similar guitar from the ground up, I'd change the pots layout and make the neck notably thicker... but by golly, this beat-up '84 still feels like home to me. That's the guitar that stays right next to my desk and definitely still gets played the most.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f I thought strats would come back again in your story, but it had another twist 😂
@@bagazheful hahah I do still like Strats in general, and own a couple nice ones now. But that Explorer will always be my Number One.
Yes. And much of this can be said about firearms as well.
@@brucemcneill6224 I love all my guitars. But my first was an Epi G-400 and I still feel most at home on an SG.
I adore these Mini docs on the classic guitars, especially the Gibson ones, i must have watched the Les Paul and burst Vids about a hundred times.
One day i will get a proper SG , they are much cheaper than a les paul too, especially used , i have had copies but as a Player myself, i want that proper seal of approval on the headstock.
I was given a 2006 Gibson SG Supreme by a member of the congregation I pastor a few years ago. I’d never owned a guitar that nice and was afraid to play it for a long time. My dream guitar as a kid was a Les Paul. The closest I came to doing so was a fake that I recently sold due to how much the weight of it hurt my back. I’ve really enjoyed the SG though. It’s a definite blessing. God had a better idea about my dream guitar than I did. I can play 3 hour gigs now between it and an acoustic without pain. If I’m not mistaken, it came stock with ‘57 classic pickups (someone might know for sure). I love playing all kinds of music, and the SG can handle all of that … from Eagles to Zeppelin to Allman Brothers to Sabbath to country and blues, and everything in between. I’ve used it at church many times as well, including an EBow version of “Silent Night.” What a great guitar!
At 46; just bought a 99 SG Custom; Alpine White Gold HW and Stop Tail. I’m really excited. I’ve wanted this guitar for 30 years 😇
No shoutout for Robby Krieger in the pantheon of 60s/70s SG players?!? 😥
I'm not even a big Doors fan, but Robbie Krieger is always overlooked.
@@PFB1994 He is SO underrated. He's not a virtuoso like other 60s heroes, but his solos/leads were tasty, melodic, and PERFECT for the song. Not to mention his riffs, songwriting, and overall unique style.
Was just coming here to say, where’s Robby? 😅☺️
@@pwmanthat’s the same reason I’m here.
I can not believe that you left out Robby Krieger! That is an injustice to an artist that created some of the most memorable music and riffs using an SG exclusively.
Both guitar players for the Alice Cooper Band, Glenn Buxton and Michael Bruce, were SG players. John Cippolina of Quicksilver Messenger Service was also a big SG player. Gray Rossington of Lynyrd Skynyrd used an SG when he played slide. Robbie Krieger od the Doors also used several SG's in his career.
*Robby
Allan Holdsworth, Frank Marino, Phil X also played SG
Yep I was waiting for Glenn Buxton and Michael Bruce to be in this video along with Frank Marino but the biggest absence of all was no mention have Gary rossington having played the slide parts of Freebird on an SG Les Paul
Don't forget Frank Marino too....
And Ric Emmett that was known for playing a double neck SG with Triumph.
Just picked up an excellent used standard for a nice price after being a Strat guy forever.
Don't wait.
Great job Keith 👏
@@larrys009 great decision Larry!
thanks for great review. I've have several SGs and luv-luved them all. 👍👍👍
I really enjoy these videos. Packed with info and great music as well.
In 1966, they solved the neck joint…..but only on the Jr. much longer tenon, I had no clue when I bought it in 1995.
The combination of the long neck tenon, and the smaller control cavity make for a very dynamic LOUD guitar acoustically, mine had a PAF, cover removed, instead of the soapbar, only a tiny bit of routing ….just for the PU legs in the bottom of the original rout, the PU baseplate sitting on the body, a Leo Quan bridge. And Grover tuners. Turned out to be the perfect axe for me. Stock tuners and 60 cycle hum soapbars are not my favs!
But I owned it for 15 years before I played it much, seemed to have a cross warp of the neck, but finally 8:12 I had a little cash, took it to a guy, who simply reset a few frets, polished them and put some washers under the bridge, at that point I installed a Seymour Duncan JB in 2009, it roared 😳but in 2010 I became a truck driver for 7 years, didn’t play a lick. Retired, an inheritance got me to buy all the toys I never had, and to finally play daily.
As part of buying & customizing a guitar a year in 2017-2022, I did a refret with Dunlop Frets and a Tone pros bridge, I had always hated the batwing pick guard and had it cut to look like a ‘63. If it was cool before, now it was really cool, original case and guitar in ‘95? $500
Any 60’s SG Bridge PU tone I can get,
As far as the neck strength? I actually managed a total geek move, kicked the guitar over, 😮😳🙄 not a scratch, didn’t even go out of tune.
They can bury me with this one! But I’ve come to enjoy neck PU sounds
& jazz, so I mostly play my RevStar now, 2 SD pickups all new CTS and switchcraft parts, with a Les Paul type leaf switch
instead of the cheap blade switch, WIRING pots buy cheap guitars!
But use quality electronics…..it’s amazing how big a difference it makes 😀
great video, keith. i've had an sg for three years and play it almost every day. it's a wonderful guitar.
I just got an SG after being a Les Paul player most of my life. What a game changer. It’s so light!
Playing a Les Paul is a little like jogging with ankle weights. After playing that literally every other electric guitar seems light. When I bought a Parker Fly my SG actually feels heavy. Isn’t that weird?
Funny enough, the weight is precisely why I can't get comfortable with SG's and PRS's. After so many years of Explorers and LPs hanging around my neck like tabletops, the SGs and PRS guitars feel like little toys 🤣
Welcome to the cool kids club.
Almost missed this great video. 😱
I bought my first electric guitar when I was 14 years old. I didn’t have a lot of money, so when I saw a brand new GORGEOUS SG at a local music store I had to have it. I mean, this was the EXACT SAME GUITAR that I looked at every day when I was in my bedroom, staring at a huge poster of Angus Young on the wall. I couldn’t believe it. But hey, when it’s good enough for Angus Young, it certainly was good enough for me!
Of course I had no idea that Angus played a Gibson and I bought a Maya SG with a bolt on neck. After a year of intensive playing, the guitar became unplayable and I needed a REAL guitar. A GOOD one. It had to be a Gibson SG, but I couldn’t afford it. However, another local music store had a second hand Gibson SG for months already. I still couldn’t afford it, but I knew my father, who was a professional musician (organ and accordion), would be happy to help me out. So I rushed to the music store and…… it was gone. They just sold the SG a week earlier.
This young kid with a broken heart still didn’t know much about guitars, but I did know about the most important brands at the time and I knew what I found cool. With the help of my father I bought my first REAL electric guitar: a beautiful Fender Stratocaster, hardtail, Sienna Sunburst (1st Dan Smith model). I was shocked when I got home and plugged it in. All the volume was gone and it sounded very bright! That’s when I learned about the differences between single coils and humbuckers. 😅
Throughout my life as a guitarist I’ve had two dozens of electric guitars in total (not too much, is it? This is in a 42 year time span). I cannot explain why, but even though the SG was my first love when it comes to guitars, I never bought one until approximately one year ago. It was an unbelievably beautiful SG Special, new but B-stock. It was a huge disappointment however. It sounded amazing, but even after giving it a proper set-up and pulling all the slack out of the strings, it just kept going out of tune. I think I could’ve fixed it with a better bridge, but it wasn’t just that. I’m not picky about neck shapes. In fact, I love it when a guitar has its own personality and a different neck shape helps with that. But the neck on this guitar was extremely thin. I hated it. I wanted this guitar so bad, but I had to send it back unfortunately.
*Warning! I will digress from now on.*
Instead I bought an Explorer, another youth dream of mine. I sold it and then I bought my last electric, a Gretsch White Falcon (modern version - G6636T). I know nothing about all of this makes any sense, but I guess I couldn’t control myself. I was downsizing. It wasn’t long ago when even though I had 11 or 12 stage worthy electrics, most of them were in a very bad shape and I had only two guitars that were still perfect (Gibson ES-347 and a heavily modified Fender Telecaster), so for a couple of years I solely used these two instruments and I felt PERFECTLY HAPPY!!! When things got a little better for me financially, I bought a 50’s style Telecaster. I have a history of ‘meeting’ some of the best Telecasters ever and EVERY TIME something went wrong, so THIS time I wasn’t going to let that happen. I should have felt good, but it made things a bit more difficult. I also treated my first Stratocaster with new pickups and this made it even worse. Because…. I don’t play 4x a week anymore. When I played 16 times a year it means I had a good year. So what am I going to take with me on a gig? I could bring two Telecasters with me (or three, but because of all sorts of physical limitations, missing my lower right leg for instance, and not being able to drive anymore, I need to ask others to carry most of my stuff. And I don’t want to bother them with my problems), so… two Telecasters. But when I do that I will have to leave my best guitar at home. I can’t let that happen, can I? It’s making me feel very uncomfortable. That’s why I decided to sell a couple more guitars and keep three completely different Telecasters plus my ES-347, my Les Paul Standard Lite Double Cut (sort of like a surrogate SG - amazing guitar!) and the White Falcon.
In other words, two sets of guitars. For both sets I would have my main guitar, a spare guitar and a third guitar in an open G tuning.
I’m so sorry for my long comment. I always tell myself to keep it simple and to the point. But I usually watch your videos during the night and for reasons I don’t understand THAT’S when I keep typing after I decided to leave a comment. I just can’t stop. I just love guitars and guitar related stuff and I don’t know that many people that I can call up in the middle of the night to tell them about my enthusiasm for SG’s after I’ve seen another one of your great videos.
Thanks again, Keith! 🧡🧡🧡
LOVE SGS, LOVE 5 WATT WORLD VIDS, TODAY WAS A GOOD DAY!!!
I love my SG. I have other guitars but always come back to it. It feels like home.
Loved the video as always. But I missed Robby Krieger and Glen Buxton
I recently picked up a 2001 sg special faded with ebony fretboard and cresent moon inlays. Came out only 2001/2002. Apparently leftover fretboards after the flying v that came out earlier? Sweet guitar. Sad u missed it in this video 🙃🤘🏻
Oops i wrote 2001. Its a 2002. And its worn brown. Serial number search: Your guitar was made at the
Nashville Plant, TN, USA
on June 3rd, 2002
Production Number: 216
Anyone have any idea how many they made of these? I would really appriciate answers ❤🎸
In the 70s I bought a SG standard from a friend of mine for $300.
I believe it was a 68.
I loved that axe. It was modified by me to a stop tail piece and the tremolo mech removed.
Another friend of mine obtained a white, custom, 3 pickup version that never intonated well...
In the 80s I lent my good friend my SG and the head stock was broken off.
He had it repaired but I sold it to him for $300..
The SG was excellent for playing way up at the top of the neck and the wide frets made it play awesome.
I am still considering purchasing another (replacement) classic SG
Can’t wait. I love your short history videos, and I love my SG.
I am not a big SG guy, but i am a MASSIVE Five watt short history guy so this was an immediate click and watch. Excellently done as always!
Your videos are ridiculous. You are the kid in the class that does a PowerPoint presentation when everyone else drew on notebook paper with crayons.
You are 4D compared to black and white tube tv.
The research, [chef's kiss]
Bravissimo!
I have one. It has small block inlays, 24 frets and minihumbuckers. Plays like a dream.
Frank Marino is criminally underrated. It’s a shame I only recently discovered his brilliance a couple of years ago. Absolutely incredible
I bought an SG Special at a pawn shop in the mid 60's . I had it a year and sold it to buy a mid 50's Les Paul Special Gold Top with Soap Bars (P90's). It has always had my favorite neck. My #1 guitar now is a Gibson SG Standard ltd ed . I bought it to flip from an estate sale but flipped mt PRS instead, lol. 😇 It is one of those best out dozens of others likely made that day. Sometimes you just get lucky.
Info on the sg I never knew…model iterations unfamiliar to me and interesting to explore further in my quest of cool sg models…thnx again for sharing 👍🏼
My first SG guitar heroes were John Cipollina (who was mesmerizing when seen live), the guitarists in Big Brother and Country Joe and the Fish, Robbie Krieger and Frank Zappa. I finally bought a 1975 Standard in the early nineties, which I replaced in 2007 with new '61 Reissue and Special with P-90's, both keepers.
Robbie Krieger is an iconic SG player. The tone he got with right hand fingertips is amazing.
I bought a brand new SG standard in 2015 and absolutely loved it, minus the G force robo tuner maybe. Somewhat recently I sold it to make room in my piggy bank for an already acquired 1952 Martin D-28. One day I'll have another, maybe a lower spec model. For years, I've eye balled the 60s tribute series and I think I'd give the P90 version a whirl. Fairly easily it's been my easiest playing guitar though but for now, I'm actually kinda in love with a Hondo H935, a lawsuit era copy of an ES-335 that's an excellent player too and far more attainable than any Gibson would be. No matter what though, from an early age it was shown to me that as a musician, there is no end to wanting to try everything under the sun and see what ways it impacts you as a player.
I just got my first Gibson SG Standard 61 with the Maestro Vibrola and I love the way it plays. I think I made an excellent choice.
In '68 I bought a Gibson TV New, which the Store Owner told me was New but had never sold while on the wall. He liked the guitar which was White with a Short Arm Vibrola, a single P-90 and a Truss Rod Cover that said TV on it so he kept it down stairs. I LOVED that Guitar!!!! My First Gibson. I traded it in '70 as a Roadie had dropped it down a flight of stairs and cracked the body just above the Controls. A DEEP Crack almost Clear though the body! The Store Owner where I bought it said Gibson would probably charge me almost the cost of a New Guitar to fix it because they would have to replace the body. I think I paid about $200 for it and it came with a rectangular Brown HSC with Gold Plush Interior that had Gibson in Script on the Front of it. I currently have a Gison SG Special and it's funny, my Special has some 60 cycle Hum but the TV NEVER did! Cheers from Salem, Oh.
My first real guitar was an epiphone SG custom, it's a model I've come back to numerous times in various forms, probably no surprise my favourite guitars are SG's and ES models.
Thanks Keith, an excelent overview, I own a '61 Les Paul SG, I've had since 1978, it's great, a friend recently purchased a '61 reissue and it's super, very close to mine, I would say though that the best SG standards, I've ever played came out of the Nashville factory in the late 70's, as I was working in a music shop at the time quite a few passed through my hands and they were all excellent guitars, I particularly liked the Super Humbucker pick-ups, I bought a couple to put on other guitars I owned.
I've had 4 SGs of my own over years but none in the last 8 years. I just inherited my dad's Custom Shop 61 VOS and an original 61 case. It's an amazing playing and sounding guitar.
Great job once again Keith. Except for leaving out some key SG players almost perfect. I just bought my first SG yesterday. It's an Epiphone SG Custom in Viper Blue. Beautiful and it didn't break the bank. Sounds great too! My long holiday weekend just got a lot better. 😀💯👍🏻
Angus young was the reason I first picked up the guitar seriously. An inspiration and living icon!
SG are my favorite guitar. Maybe my Grandson will choose one someday. I almost forgot, hard tail only and P-90s.
got my first SG about 2 years ago its an incredible guitar
I love my 1960 SG. The fifth one ever made
I love my 2002 '68 reissue with p90s (Pete Townshend signature model). Clean, loud clean, fuzzy, it can handle it all.
For me, this is the sweetest-sounding instrument I've ever heard.
My first decent guitar was an Epiphone G400 and then years later I was able to afford a proper SG with mini humbuckers. These are both awesome guitars and totally different from the rest of my collection. They do different jobs.
I've had more SG's than any other guitar, and most of my favorite players play them 🤘
I recently bought my first Gibson, a Cherry SG Standard with Burstbucker Pro pickups and Tune O Matic bridge. It’s a bucket list guitar for me (big Angus Young fan) and everything I hoped it would be.
Fell in love with the Sg in the early Sabbath days and it has been my number one since and I own all the others.. still gigging 60 per year.. Rock on !!
Hi Keith,
These are by far my favorite axe. The SG is everything I love about a guitar. It has the duel humbucker sound, outstanding upper fret access, it’s nice and light in weight and it looks very cool to boot too if all that wasn’t enough :)
I was surprised to see this one since you’ve don’t the SG already however it’s 4k too so I get it ( and glad you did haha! )
Thanks as always, Tommy~
thanks for another gem Keith! Well, I said that here before but my first SG was coming from trading an original 65 Stratocaster sunburst and The SG was a 74 Standard with Bigsby tremolo, It was my first. Currently I have a 2013 Special in sparkling burgundy red which plays phenomenal. Funny enough, in your presentation for this video you show an olympic white one on a red sofa. The picture was taken at my buddy Owen's Some Neck Guitars shop in Dublin, the first shop on the corner of Angier with George St.. I'm telling you this because I stopped by countless times at the shop and I played that particular instrument a good bunch of times and this brings tears to my eyes. I'd like to send all my love as always to Owen if he happens to watch this video, he is truly a gentleman and has one of the most beautiful guitar shops you can find, really you get in there and it is like a dream. Thanks again for this video Keith, you always get me emotional man. Much love always from West Spain ❤ By the way Greg Koch is made from another kind of clay. Hell I love The Gristle!
The only SG I ever owned, came to me as a project guitar in need of repair. It was old and had been sitting in its case for years. It turned out that the input jack was not attached. I fixed it in 5 minutes. It sounded awesome, but I didn't like the neck dive so I sold it, a week later. I paid 550 bucks for it and sold it for 1200, by posting an ad in the grocery store.
I do remember the owner saying that it was made in the seventies, but I think he was trying to make it seem newer than it really was.
How times have changed!
I will keep my 61’ reissue until I die …… pure joy to play with …. Light weight, fast action and,,, of course, this incredible sound !
Hi Keith, excellent video and the SG s definitely its own thing, and I love mine. I do want to say that you perhaps did forget to mention that for a brief period around 2016 that Gibson made an SG Standard with P-90s that has a "T" model designation. This is a very affordable SG (which is what I have), and of high quality - IF you can find one. I was hunting one on Reverbs until last week, when one finally popped up, and it was mint. I jumped on and it arrived this week. Sweet joy that SG is - especially that P-90 bridge pickup - good lord!
Thank you for the video! I'm a bass player owning few guitars like a strat and a casino but I always had a crush on SG. probably gonna get one now... maybe a p90 one.
I dont have a cool story, but I do have an SG that I kind of bought by accident and I absolutely love that thing. Its definitely a special guitar and if I was rich, I'd buy more of them.
I always wanted an SG since my teens because I had noticed that my favorite tones were from SG players.
It took me 15 years before I finally got one. I had tried to buy used ones and they always sold before I had enough money together. When I finally got my first SG, a lot tone chasing ensued. My amp and pedals changed frequently until I found a couple of amps that got me most of the tones I wanted and a few OD/distortion/fuzz pedals that got me the rest of the way.
I've since narrowed done my choices of amps to 3. I sold off almost 200 pedals, now sitting at a collection of about 50 that I feel get me almost any sound I desire.
In 1973 I purchased a 1968 sg special in black 2 p 90's ans short maestro vibrola and a 73 50w marshall with 8×10 cabinet thank God I got pictures man I wish I had that guitar back I guess the black finish was rare I've looked on line and can't find one ! Great show thanks !
I have a ‘73 Standard in Cherry that has faded to a mahogany color. It has the bevels, small block pearl inlays, Tarback pickups and a small pick guard. Great guitar.
Great history of this instrument. Its simply amazing how many greats used the SG.
Keith has a new video……… always a highlight of the day when that happens 😊👍👍👍👍
True that!
Intersting. I've never had any interest in SG's at all. But I remember saying that about ES-335's and now I own four of them. Ya never know.
The first time my eyes ever spied an SG in person was when my older brother brought home a Cherry SG Standard back in 1979-1980 , all I could think was " COOL !!! " Now 44 years later I think it is time to get one for myself ! Great video ! Thanks !
Back when buying albums was an event. I remember getting the double live Uriah Heep record and seeing Mick Box playing an SG in one of the photos included in the center of the album. That was a great record!
I know Dave Barber personally. When you mentioned the barber Buss pedal it hit me like a sledge hammer. My first guitar @ about 19 years old was a LES PAUL. Sadly I sold it maybe 8 years later thinking I would give up guitar for good. Then around 20 years later I got my first SG when I failed to win the high bid on a Les Paul BFG I was after. Now I own 4 SG's and 2 LP's
Just picked up a 2017 Gibson SG Standard in Autumn Shade gloss. It’s a bit beat up cosmetically, but man it plays beautifully.
As a life long SG lover(my first guitar I bought in 1991 and still own my 1991 SG Standard along with a 2011 60s Tribute P90 one), I loved your original video and can't wait to watch the re-done one!
Ayy, exactly a 20 year difference!
after over 55 years of playing several guitars (les paul and strat, tele and prs SEs)i got myself a SG 61 "faded" one this year (i modded it) and although it'S NOT a Les Paul (for several reasons) i love it for it's unique style and sound.....cheers
love to watch your videos....very interesting....
I never really liked the SG but recently got a set of Gibson P90s and needed a platform. I visioned smth like a DC or a PRS but ended with a Stagg SG300 and boy, I"m loving it. Definitely suits me better than my ESP LPC. High frets access is phenomenal.I need a 24-fretter in the future (and possibly a 24 fret 7-string ESP Viper as well)
Have been hanging out for this one - fantastic history again Keith, thanks!
I got my early 70's SG custom for peanuts in the early 80's, before AC/DC blew up properly. I had a choice at the time between the 4 SG's they had in stock, including a 60's special, a modded standard with 4 humbuckers squeezed in, a standard I can't remember, and the custom I ended up with. It had two tarbacks and a Bill Lawrence branded twin blade neck pickup with a cap that rolled off treble, and the awful fretless wonder frets that were the reason I ended up selling it for peanuts to make the rent one month. Great sounding guitar, especially through my band mate's Marshall, and it would have benefitted greatly from a refret.
Just bought an SG! (My first Gibson) so perfect timing! Another great video for the channel. GOAT
I have two SGs . One a Yamaha SG 600 purchased in Japan while living there in high school (Army Brat). At the time was taking lessons from Army band member who was a former Berklee guy. Before getting Yamaha with his help at a Yamaha sponsored store, I would use one of his Les Pauls during lessons. One of which was a 61 LP / SG. We played thru a Mesa Boogie 😃
Earlier this year I got an Epiphone SG 61 from Sweetwater. Was a discount ed scratch unit but neither my or I could locate it. Man have I been pleased with it. The burst buckers really are kicking, and come alive with volume and man, sound fantastic sans pedals
I do own and love my SG!
Just so we’re clear, I absolutely LOVE these videos! But I find it interesting that a very important detail in the development of the SG was left out… Bringing the neck closer into the body to meet the neck pickup… It was a brilliant move that not only strengthened the neck joint, but also put the neck pickup underneath the “24th fret” harmonic, where it belongs! Not to mention, it reduced neck dive and the guitar balanced better as a result! AND, bringing the nut closer to the body made for less of a stretch for your fretting hand… Funny, how people rarely talk about this… Personally, I loved the change and wish Gibson had never abandoned it! Oh well, whaddya gonna do… 🤷🏼♂️😅
It just doesn't look right when the neck pickup isn't aligned under that octave. HSS or HSH super strats always look odd to me for the same reason.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f It’s not a problem if the guitar has 21 or 22 frets… I have Super Strats in both configurations that look and (more importantly) sound just great! I think you meant to say on 24 fret Super Strats, correct?
Yes, he did specifically mention it, and even showed one, but only very briefly, with no other details.
@@MrFrykman yeah, if it don't have 24 frets it's not a super strat. :p
The pickup placement doesn't seem to stop anyone from making great music. It just looks odd to me.
I actually mention that, but as you say, it didn’t stick.
I love SG's, got 2 of 'em (92 Standard & '61R). They might not be as pretty as some of my LP's but my '92 Standard is the one guitar that always sits right next to my amp. They're just straight out rock beasts & fantastic for slide. I'm surprised Mick Taylor isn't on this list. His playing on the Stones' albums is simply out of this world & his era with the band was their best by a mile (imho of course).
Carlos Santana famously played his SG Special at Woodstock through a Gallien-Krueger GMT 226 - a solid state amp, purportedly the most powerful guitar amp at the time.
A black SG standard was the first Gibson I ever bought (like many folks), back in the early 2000s after I’d come back to guitar following years of all kinds of things we give up for careers or family.
Like many guitars that surprised me over the years, it was a type of guitar I’d never liked the look of, but picked up to try out. The neck on this standard was bigger, it fit my Christmas ham-sized hands, and I was instantly hooked on the playability, comfort, and resonance, playing away unplugged. Sitting there in a guitar center I’d occasionally visit on lunch breaks, I suddenly had to have it. It just felt like a part of me. It was like the guitar disappeared.
The neck dive of SGs has never bothered me as, sitting or standing, I always play any guitar with a strap, one side of it a suede texture - those kind of straps make any guitar stay put.
While I did play it plugged-in for a bit before I bought it (just to make sure everything worked), once I got home, I wasn’t much pleased with the pickups. They’ve always been too hot for my style of playing. In 20 years, I’ve planned to swap them for something I like more, but never seem to get around to it.
I’ve kept it all these years, despite my dislike for the pickups, because whenever I pick it up, it physically feels so good to play. Gotta get those different pickups. 😃
Keith, this was another outstanding short history I eagerly saved for a quiet Saturday morning with coffee, and as usual you knocked it out of the park. Huge kudos to you and your team, you all just keep nailing it! Another of the short histories I know I’ll watch again and again. You do amazing work for the guitar community and we’re so fortunate you do. ✌️😌🎸
My first electric guitar was a 1962 Les Paul SG Standard, Short Maestro, Ebony Block Cherry. I still have it, we have almost the same amount of battle scars, and I love playing it as much today as I did when I first got my hands on it...!
✌😎🤘
That‘s a guitar I‘d love to see. How long do you own it?
@@Fisch269 Nice of you to ask. I bought it from a good friend back in 1989 and have been playing it ever since. My SG can be seen on a few of the videos on The BS Factory channel. It's nothing fancy, but it's there...
better keep hold of it, and don't let the grand kids flog it at the 1st opportunity....
WOW. 18:22 My old SG fom my teen years, exactly, down to the walnut finish, embossed pickups, and the Gibson branded tremolo.
IMO, Keith’s videos are national treasures.
Hey Keith enjoyed this short history of the SG maybe do a short history of Harmony or something similar at some point? Your content is out together well
I just added the new 5 Watt World Barber Plus boost to my rig. Killer pedal. Hoping for more with ypu and Barber.
I've sold my 2 SGs 3 years ago to acquire my 1961 Les Paul SG Jr. That's fitting for the 5 Watt World mentality I think. Love what you do man.
Keith - great update on the SH of the SG. The Live at Leeds SG is a perennial favorite - such a great noise to be made with those P-90’s. One possible small correction - you mention a “Jack Lomax” who got an SG from George Harrison. I believe that’s Jackie Lomax, whose first album was produced by and played on by George. And he’s from Liverpool, not the US. Loving these SH updates!
You missed Frank Marino an extremely underrated guitarist who's always played and SG
I never knew the headstock inlay is a thistle, thank you.
Thanks Keith!! Once again, I'm an hour late and amazed!! 8) --gary
For me the SG has always been proof that great guitars don't have to be perfect guitars. Yes, they have their design flaws, but they also have an upside. I love how they play, I love the tone, the look. They are some of the coolest axes ever designed and I like most of their iterations. Great video.
SGs never grabbed me like some other designs, but I fully understand why so many people love them. The only real drawback for me is the weight.... after getting so accustomed to LPs and Explorers, an SG (or PRS) feels like a lightweight kid's toy to me.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7f On the contrary the weight is why I love it! I had a car accident when I was 21 that gave me bursitis in my left shoulder. While most guitars were too heavy for me after that the SG was my savior.
@@TjMetalHead94 I understand; it just depends on the person.
My first good guitar was an SG. This was back in '83 and it was a Firebrand. Black with gold sunburst. I decided I was more of a Strat guy and traded the SG for a Peavey Stereo Chorus 400. Then around 2000-2001 I decided to give SGs another try. Bought a new Standard, white with gold hardware. Ended up not playing it as I never got used to the huge neck, and sold or traded it. Last year, I saw a Firebrand just like the one I used to have on Reverb. Only it was $2,200, whereas I bought that first one for $400. Deciding I was nostalgic for the guitar but not *that* nostalgic, I looked at my local (Nashville) ads and found a 2011 Standard in black for $1,100. A fret leveling (#3 was high), buffing, and setup later, it was a keeper. This one's not going anywhere.
Wow what a coincidence I literally just got my first Gibson SG standard a few days ago.
SG‘s are my favourite design. They are great and comfortable to play, and they really can do it all. My main guitar is a Gibson SG Special with P90s and it‘s utterly brilliant.
Got my Les Paul SG (1962) in '75 for $600. at Alex Music, NYC, on 48th St. There were two in the window, one with the Vibrola, one without. I chose the one without as I never found much use for a trem bar. Best guitar I've ever played - action is great, never had to adjust the truss rod. I've only played one or two other guitars that played as easily as this one. Only issue is the "soft neck," which you have to watch out for as it brings the pitch up slightly if you're not careful. Use a hybrid set of strings, D'Addario 9.5's, which are in between 9's and 10's.
I have a1969 SG Standard I bought in the summer of 69 and it came with a Bigsby factory installed and it sounds as good as it did back then the only thing I put on it were new Kluson tuners that are period correct the original ones were wore out It's going to need a fret job I might get a hold of Gibson to see what that will cost I still play it and I love it not a bad investment for the $250.00 I paid for it
Cool, I have always loved SGs, ever since I got to play my teacher’s old SG Custom.
Lots of mention of some iconic SG players, but almost always left off that list are two guitar players I always associate with the SG-
Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce of the original Alice Cooper Band.
The pictures of them with SGs and the early use of an EB 3 by bassist Dennis Dunaway are etched in my memory.
And I see that referenced by guitar players older than I am who got into guitar due to those three.
I loved the Alice Cooper Band, From Love it to Death to Billion Dollar Babies. There's some early video on UA-cam of them playing on what looks like a high-school auditorium stage, playing "Black Juju" and other oddities.
Zappa's SG at 20:38 is not a Gibson. It has the Gibson logo on the Headstock, but it's a total custom build by a fan who presented it to Zappa at a show and he bought it and promptly had it modified. McLaughlin's Double Neck pictured at 21:24 is a Rex Bogue, not a Gibson. There was also a Firebrand model that had the Gibson logo burnt into the Hradstock.
Love this series- ride or die with 5-Watt!
I have a ‘73 Standard that I have owned since 1982, bought when I was 17. It was the coolest thing I’d seen to that point and of all my possessions it’s the thing I’d have the hardest time parting with.
I hear you. I don't usually get sentimental about material objects, but my first quality guitar ('84 Gibson Explorer, bought used in '90) is coming into the funeral pyre with me. That thing has been with me through a lot in the last 35+ years, including some dire financial straits, but I still have it and I still play it daily.
@@DogSlobberGardens-i7fso i should not part with my les paul classic even if im in a financial struggle? Thanks for the inspiration.. i might end up trading it to sg with some cash
I have a 1968 original SG Standard that people have been trying to buy from me for the past 50 years. It was my #1 until I got a Les Paul R0 but I still love the SG and will never sell it.
My favorite feature of the SG are its horns. They have always reminded me of the Devil or steer horns. Both are cool! I have a 60th Anniversary '61 SG Custom. It is one of best-looking guitars in my collection. My only complaint relates to the non-potted pickups. I hate the popping sound they emit every time my pick touches one of the three pickups. It's a big distraction for a sloppy player like myself. That being said, I love my SG!
Keith, I'm not a guitar player or owner. But I love your short history on guitars and amps. I share your video's on a FB group and with friends who play. I am a big music collector of Vinyl and CD's. Knowing the history of the equipment helps me appreciate my favorite guitar players sound and history. Thank again for you hard work getting this info out here. I also watch Rick B.'s video's as well. You two give a great roundness to understanding great music. Peace and love man !
Another great Short History! Some of my favorite players with an SG! I was very much into Black Sabbath and AC/DC when I was “younger”. The SG was certainly front and center.
Love this. I have a Gibson Black Beauty. One of my best ladies.